​Though the Alabama Theatre is often heralded for its beauty, its counterpart The Lyric holds a sense of opulence all its own. With its ornate gold detailing and Grecian murals, the oldest theatre in Birmingham has made a remarkable comeback. The theatre opened its doors in 1914 and was originally designed for vaudeville shows, an entertainment form largely lost to time. It hosted many big names of that era, including the Marx Brothers, Mae West, and Milton Berle. It was in its time the image of modernism: though still segregated, the Lyric was one of the few places where white and black people could enjoy live entertainment together for the same price. The theatre would remain a popular stop along the vaudeville circuit until the early 1930s, when the Great Depression hit. The Depression, film's rising popularity, mismanagement, and a revolving door of owners would ultimately lead to this landmark’s downfall. In the end, the Lyric couldn’t keep up with the fast-paced modern culture that had grown up around it. 

At 7 a.m. on July 4, 2022, Tuscaloosa was jolted awake by a sudden rumble followed by a loud bang and multiple explosions repeating one after the next. But it wasn’t fireworks. Instead, it was a controlled implosion of Julia Tutwiler Hall, an all-girls dormitory at the University of Alabama. Spectators watched the thirteen-floor tower as explosives inside went off, till finally the building fell to the ground, sending a plume of white dust into the air and leaving nothing behind but a pile of crumbled bricks and twisted metal. Around 675 pounds of dynamite was needed to bring the building down in twenty seconds.